The Lost Bus (2025)  

Review: written November 2025

Searing portrayal of everyman heroism

Based on a true story, Matthew Maconaughy stars as a bus driver who puts personal issues to the side when a call comes on the radio for any empty buses to help pick up schoolchildren trapped in the town of Paradise, during the infamous Camp wildfire of 2018- the deadliest wildfire in California history. What starts as a detour, becomes increasingly perilous as the flames close in. With America Ferrera’s schoolteacher the only other adult with him looking after the 22 children, their path through the flames becomes increasingly fraught. Meanwhile, the fire progression and associated firefighting decisions are shown – just enough for context without becoming too procedural. We get a great sense for what is happening, and the scope and geography of the firefighting, without it ever feeling like it is being explained through exposition.

The scenes of the fire as it intensifies are eye popping. Not for a moment do you stop to imagine how this was done – you just feel like you are there, thanks to a combination of very obviously real effects, sparing cgi, and not to forget Greengrass’s swooping camera making you feel like you are seeing the fire’s point of view itself, combined with extraordinary sound design to make the fire a living breathing character in the story.

Director Paul Greengrass is no stranger bringing true stories of heroism under pressure to the big screen, and he doesn’t disappoint here. He has a knack for showing real life characters becoming unexpected heroes. And while the drama feels somewhat heightened for effect, compared to, for example, his other movies ‘United 93’, or ‘Captain Phillips’, the tension is real and gripping, because these characters feel real, and the scenario is clear. In focusing on this one story of heroism from the fire, the broader story is appreciated, of both the scale of the event, and the power of the community pulling together in its time of need.

The movie might lose a point or two for the apparent exaggeration of some of the personal drama for effect, but that detracts very little from what is a riveting, enthralling inspiring and nerve-fraying story.

In short, I’d recommend discovering this particular Lost Bus.